The influence of vermicompost water extracts on growth of plants propagated by cuttings

Abstract

Water extracts from vermicomposts, commonly known as “teas,” contain plant available nutrients and plant growth regulators. Their applications on plants have shown to increase seed germination, plant growth and yield, and suppress diseases. This experiment evaluates the effects of vermicompost teas, extracted from food and paper-waste vermicompost, on the rooting characteristics of stem cuttings. Stem cuttings from sugarcane and mint, and leaf cuttings from begonia were treated with four concentrations of vermicompost teas from food wastes: 1%, 2%, 5%, and 10%, compared with water only control and a commercial rooting hormone, Dip ‘N Grow, arranged in randomized complete block design with 10 replications. Rooting characteristics such number of roots, root density, and length of roots were assessed. Results showed that rooting of the stem cuttings from three plants responded differently to applications of vermicompost teas. Vermicompost teas applied at 2% showed as the optimum concentration for sugarcane and mint, while 1% vermicompost tea was optimum for begonia leaf cuttings. The increased rooting in stem cuttings was due to the combination of auxins, cytokinins, GA, and humic acids found in vermicompost teas extracted from food and paper waste vermicompost. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether interactions exist between concentration and length of application time.